To market, to market -- June 6, 2015

Gray Owl Farm at the South Anchorage Farmers Market.


Markets, markets everywhere,
Nor any basil being sold --
The local farmers have none to share
No pesto stories were told.

Local cucumber and radishes were easy to find today; I just needed the basil: We got to the Spenard Market just after the one vendor sold her last bunch. Arctic Organics at 15th Street and Cordova said, "Come back in two weeks." No basil that I could see at South Anchorage Market, or Sagaya's, or Natural Pantry. I bought a jar of prepared pesto, and took it home to combine with sliced cucumber and radishes -- which the markets did have -- for crostini appetizers. Sprinkled with a bit of hot pepper spice (Ichimi Tagarashi, although I think that any hot pepper would be fine), they were delicious.


The lack of basil was more than made up for by all of the interesting vendors at the various markets. At South Anchorage, we saw ice cream, doggie treats, La Grassa Pasta (I picked up the pea and ricotta pasta that I ordered earlier), local seafood, sod, wine-tasting, and hundreds of plants.

The Hungry Squirrel Food truck at South Anchorage Market. At the moment, they have only cannoli, but hope to soon be allowed to sell meat sandwiches.

A young girl getting her start at the South Anchorage Market; later, her dad came along andappropriated the microphone and guitars.

Dahlias at the South Anchorage Market.

At the Spenard Market -- Balanas Bros., gelato, Steam Dot coffee, Fire Island, Fromaggio, pirogis, cupcakes, half a dozen greens vendors, a few crafts booths, and Bamboo food truck.

Mixed greens with (edible) flowers, from Balanas Bros at Spenard Market.

A writer/vendor at Spenard Market.

Fire Island under a Spenard Market tent.

Fire Island home location, with plenty of people willing to sit outside despite occasional drips of rain.

At Sagaya's, as always, the Asian produce section was even more artfully arranged than the regular produce.



After the markets -- more things to do.

An actual hungry squirrel, not lunching on cannoli.

At Point Woronzof, a UPS plane coming in to land.

Rain clouds over the Kenai Peninsula and the Mat-Su Valley (Fire Island, not the bakeshop, to the right of the photo).

A very odd plant in a local garden -- a spiral-leaf rhubarb?

Late evening sky, with rain on the Seward Highway (and our windshield), and late evening sun in the northwest.

Pansies.